The Philippine power industry is on to exciting times ahead as the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) intensifies its preparations for the roster of market developments it plans to implement within the year. One of which is the highly-anticipated launch of the Enhanced WESM Design and Operations (EWDO) that is geared to Go-Live this 26 June 2021.
The commercial launch of the EWDO signifies the transition of WESM to the 5-minute market that is geared towards a more efficient, transparent, and reliable electricity market. Preparatory activities such as the Closed Loop Interface Testing, which concluded on 25 May 2021 along with a series of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and the Limited Live Dispatch Operations (LLDO) were conducted to further equip the market participants on the new interface and systems that come along with the EWDO.
With the culmination of the LLDO last 04 June, the Market Operator reported a high and positive participation rate throughout the said endeavor – 99.3% for Luzon, 98.4% for Visayas, and 97.2% for Mindanao. Currently, the Department of Energy (DOE) is conducting the assessment of the results collated during the LLDO and it shall make the final evaluation on the declaration of the Go-Live.
During its media briefing, IEMOP also discussed its market advocacies for the country’s long-term capacity planning and building. This includes the use of market signals to determine the optimal locations of generations and transmission facilities for an overall generation and transmission planning. IEMOP is also preparing for the implementation of the Reserve Market this year. The establishment of the Reserve Market will attract generator investments and ensure a competitive environment for filling up the reserve requirements of the system. Likewise, IEMOP is studying the implementation of a Forwards Market. The development of draft policies which shall be submitted to policy makers is currently ongoing and it is expected to be completed early next year. Lastly, the a study on Capacity Market has been initiated to create an avenue wherein generation capacity requirements are auctioned off and the winning investors are guaranteed capacity payments through a universal tariff.
